Lyric Opera of Chicago: Beyond the Aria

The idea is to pair two established artists with a young Ryan Center artist for each program. As it turned, out, Ryan member Bridges, delivered some of the finest moments of the evening. The mezzo-soprano’s rendition of Ravel’s Sheherezade cycle was mesmerizing, alternately impassioned and suffused with sensual languor and smoky tone. She brought a maternal caressing expression to Montsalvatge’s lullaby Canción de cuna para dormir un negrito and sassy panache to Gershwin’s I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise, returning this standard to its jazz-age roots.